Not Invisible Anymore
by kyekye
Summary: Life for Helga hasn't been good and over the years it has only gotten worse but no one has noticed, she had become invisible. But now its getting harder for her to stay that way. The question on every one's mind is how did Helga G. Pataki become Invisible and Why? Sorry every one I absolutely suck at summaries
1. Chapter 1

Arnold looked across the room to see his one time tormentor Helga G. Pataki. No one really knows why but a couple of years after they saved the neighborhood she stopped bullying every one. It wasn't instant but slowly she stopped she didn't threaten any one or even call him football head anymore.

As weird as it may sound he sort of missed it. Arnold Short-man missed being bullied by Helga. He knew why she bullied him in the past thanks to her confession on top of the FTI building, even if she did deny it later on. He just couldn't get it out of his head.

After that things went mostly back to normal up until they reached there first year of middle school and looking back at that year he should have noticed that her bullying had lessened somewhat then, and as the years went by it was less and less until she stopped completely.

Arnold was shocked when one day he said hi to her and instead of her usual yell of "Beat it foot ball head" all she did was calmly look at him gather her things and whisper "Hi Arnold" before walking away

He tried to talk to her a few times after that silently hoping to find some of the old Helga, but every attempt ended in failure. As middle school continued she stopped wearing her large pink bow, a fact that sort of saddened Arnold at least until he saw the ribbon tied around her wrist.

Other than the ribbon she stopped wearing her trademark color pink all together now the only thing she wore now a days was gray and the occasional black it was always a long sleeved turtle neck shirt and jeans on top of her head with all of her hair tucked into it was a gray beanie, and gone was her uni-brow no one knows when she decided to get rid of her uni-brow but then again no one really cared why she did it

Like all people do Helga G. Pataki grew up, and wither she knew it or not she grew up to be rather pretty. Sadly no one really noticed and over the years she simply faded into the background. No one took notice of her any more even him. That was something he felt guilty for and his lack of notice would have continued if it wasn't for there sophomore English teacher putting them together to work on a poetry project together.

After class Arnold walks over to Helga's desk "hi Helga" he smiles silent hoping that she will call him football head or something that would let him know the old Helga is still in her some were

She doesn't look at him but continues to place her things into her bag "Hello Arnold"

Slightly disappointed but not deterred he holds out his hand to help her out of her seat at this she looks at his hand silently and gets up on her own. Expecting that Arnold follows Helga out of the class room into the hall way "so since we got paired up for this project how about we meet after school and start to figure things out"

Helga pauses almost causing Arnold to run into her back" I can't"She whispers

Arnold's smile fades " I know I might not be your ideal partner but..."

Helga shakes her head lightly interrupting him "no its not that... I cant meet any time after school I have to work"she whispers

Arnold nods nothing unusual there a lot of kids were getting after school jobs now "then how about the weekend?"

Helga sighs still not looking Arnold in the eye "okay Arnold I should be able to get off work by noon on Saturday"

Arnold smiles again "great so how about we meet at your house?

"NO!"Helga yells catching the attention of everyone in the halls. As if realizing what she did she quickly walks away from the stunned Arnold who wasn't expecting her to scream

Suddenly realizing he was alone in the hall way Arnold chases after her but she was long gone. He sighs and runs a hand through his hair and adjusting his hat he heads towards his locker to find his best friend leaning up against it "hey Arnold my man"

The two do there thumb hand shake "hey Gerald how was classes?"

Gerald groans scratching at the few hairs that had started to grow on his chin "not half bad but it does look like I need to find a science tutor"

Arnold shakes his head "don't look at me science is not my forte. Need help in history math or any other class but Science and I'm your man"

Gerald smirks "speaking of other classes who did you get paired up with for English"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you"

"Try me"

Arnold look Gerald dead in the eyes "Helga G. Pataki"

Gerald's eyes narrow in confusion "you mean the girl that used to pick on us in elementary school?"

Arnold shuts his locker after gathering his homework for the day "the one and the same"

Gerald frowns " I didn't even know she still went to school with us I thought she had moved away sometime in middle school"

"Nope she's still here"

Gerald smirks "so what's it like being called Football head again?"

Arnold shrugs " I wouldn't know she hasn't called me that in years"

"Wait, wait, wait your telling me that she actually calls you by your name?"Arnold nods and Gerald's eyes widen "I guess she had to grow out of her bulling sometime"

"Arnold?"A small but strong voice calls out from behind him. Both Gerald and Arnold turn to see a very pretty Japanese girl with oval glasses

"Yes?"

"I case you forgotten my name is Phoebe I Have a note for you from Helga"she says handing Arnold a folded piece of paper

Arnold grabs the paper from her "Thank you Phoebe"

"No Problem" Phoebe bows slightly "I'll see you later Arnold" She turns her eyes to Gerald and smiles "later Gerald"She then walks away not noticing Gerald's drooling gaze following her

Arnold elbows Gerald in the ribs to snap him out of his faze. The slightly taller African American boy grins "Arnold my man I think I'm in love"

A laugh erupts out of Arnold's mouth "bout time to noticed you've been in love with her for years"

Gerald shrugs "details, details now what did Miss Pataki have to say to you?"

Arnold opens the folded piece of paper it reads :

Arnold,

I can meet you Saturday at 1 o' clock at the public library to work on our project don't be late.

Helga

"Well that was short and to the point? Why can't she just meet with you after school like every one else?"Gerald asks scratching his chin again

"She has to work"

"Really? Were does she work?"

"I really don't know I haven't asked her and no one has mentioned Helga working any were"

Gerald shrugs "honestly Arnold do you really think if they did see her working anywhere they would have noticed her?"Arnold looks up at Gerald waiting on him to continue "think about it she has faded into the background barely anyone remembers Helga G. Pataki. Hell I forgot about her until you brought her name up."

Arnold runs his fingers through his hair and frowns the guilt he felt earlier for not remembering her eating at his heart "your right Gerald I'm not happy about it bur your right"The school bell rings letting every one know its time to leave "I'm gonna head on home ill see you later"

They do there thumb shake "alright good luck with Helga tomorrow"

With Helga

Helga walks through the door of her home trying to be a quiet as possible it was 12:30 am and she had just gotten off of work. But sadly it didn't matter how quiet she was the one person she was trying to avoid was sitting right there waiting on her to get home.

That person was Big Bob Pataki. He looks at his youngest daughter or as he liked to say the slime of the Pataki line and holds out his hands. Helga sighs and pulls out a small wad of bills leaving the coins I her pocket knowing he doesn't want them and places them in his hands.

Big Bob scowls and faster than Helga could blink had her pinned to the wall by her throat "IS THIS IT!?"

Helga brings her hands up to try to get some air in her lungs "it was a slow night" she gasps

Big Bob smacks Helga with his other hand busting her lip "SLOW NIGHT MY ASS! DON'T FORGET YOU OWE ME! AND YOUR GONNA PAY ME EVERY SINGLE PENNY YOU LOST ME WHEN YOU DECIDED TO STOP THE FUTURE TECH. INDUSTRY FROM TEARING DOWN THIS FUCKING TOWN!"

Helga can see her vision going dark from the lack of oxygen and silently prays that he actually kills her this time. This has been going on for the last 8 years. Sometimes she wonders if the neighborhood was really worth what was happening to her.

Tears silently leak out of Helga's eyes and she knows even if she knew this was gonna happen she would help Arnold save the neighborhood all over again. The darkness starts to grow around her eyes and she welcomes it. Unfortunately it was stopped when Big Bob dropped her to the floor allowing her to breath.

He stares at her silently taking in her bloody lip and listening to her gasping for air. Seeing her like that made him feel guilty and that was a feeling he hated. It filled him with rage. Rage towards the one he's feeling it for so he did what he always did when he sees her on the ground .. he swung back his leg and kicked her right in the stomach.

She coughs up a bit of blood but doesn't move or even make a sound. Big bob grumbles and heads off to bed leaving Helga crumpled on the floor. Once shes sure hes gone Helga pulls her body up and heads off to the basement which is now her room.

She honestly doesn't mind having her room in the basement. Yea its dark and has no windows and it basically ices over in the winter, but its very spacious. The one good thing about her room is that it is the safest place in the whole house for her. Big Bob is terrified to enter her room, and its all thanks to her old friend and pet The monitor lizard. Who is really just a Komodo dragon

After that whole episode were Big Bob's parrot got lose and was running its mouth in class and this big guy ate him Helga grew attached to the giant reptile and she called him Toby. Why Toby? She doesn't know but he seemed to like it.

Toby as Bob quickly found out was very protective of Helga and there room no one was allowed to enter. If they tried they were put face to face with a six foot lizard weighing a bit over a hundred pounds.

A lot of Helga's money goes towards taking care off Toby she bought him a plastic pool an filled it with water and mud and she bought a small heater so that the cold wouldn't get to him in the winter and she was constantly at the pet store buying him birds and rats and various other live animals for him to hunt and eat.

Big Bob tried to get rid of Toby but because of his species he was protected under Indonesian law and because of this and the fact that Toby has claimed Helga as his territory there was nothing that Big Bob could do.

Helga was grateful for that because she doesn't have to worry about spending money on taking him to the doctors the Indonesians takes care of those expenses and they give him a few months worth of food every visit and for caring for him they give Helga money so that she can continue to take care of him.

Thankfully Big Bob doesn't know about her monthly checks or he would try to take that money away from her as well. Helga had set up a student bank account so that she could put her money in with out Bob's knowledge shes been putting all of the money she manages to save up in the last eight years in that account and needless to say she had more than enough to finally move out when she turns 18 and take her loving Toby with her.

Helga was instantly greeted by the happy lizard when she limped into her room that night. He twisted and turned around her legs making her giggle softly the sound hurting her bruised throat. She lets a bird out and Toby gives chase

While Toby is eating Helga starts to remove her clothes . Looking at her self in the mirror Helga frowns her body is covered in new and old bruises and a few scars, Thankfully Bob never wants to leave a permanent scar so hes never cut her just left big bruises. Helga quickly turns away from the mirror after examining Bob's Hand print on her neck and lays down on her bed

Helga grabs a thick black book and begins to write :

June 25, 2010

Day by Day

Each day I live, the pain consumes

What little sanity I have bloomed

Like walking in a cloud of fog

Falling down, sinking into smog

Life just seems grim

I think on a whim

Interest lost in everything I do

But what a life, who really knew?

Depressed to a fault, that all I see

Death just seems like the only way for me

A waste of time, I feel I am

But that's its nature, a full mind jam

I try and try to ease the pain

A fallen effort with no gain

Thoughts begin to eat away

Makes me want to end it today

Uncomfortable around others for the way I feel

I pray and wish this all wasn't real

Life just seems more like a prison

Caged, alone, an abomination risen

No one could ever understand

Why I would want my death sooner than planned

Its not something I want for me

But to end my suffering this is what has to be

So I write this all as I fall from grace

Down to this place, some barren waste

I know not how much longer I will last

But all I can do, is pray that this will just pass.

(AN I do not own this poem I found it online please review and tell me what you think)


	2. Chapter 2

Helga got up early the next morning long before the sun came up and put a leash on Toby to take him for his morning walk. She always felt safe when she had Toby walking with her and she constantly laughed at those random runners who would quickly change direction when they saw her walking with the over grown lizard.

There walk would end at the park were she would take off his leash and let him hunt for a few hours while she rested on one of the park benches. Helga knows it will be a while before Toby returns so she decides this is as good time as any to dose off a bit. Just as shes falling to deep into sleep a voice rings out behind her

"Helga?" Her eyes snap open at the sound of her name and she quickly turns to see who it was she relaxes once she sees its only Arnold "What are you doing out here so early?"

She stares at Arnold being careful not to look him in the eyes, and debating on whether or not to answer him. She hadn't tried to use her voice since last night and wasn't sure any thing would come out if she tried. She turns her head away from Arnold missing the look of disappointment that crosses his face when she does 

Over the years Helga has made a point of not looking people in the eyes, Afraid that they will see what she is not ready to show. Helga then clears her throat the action hurting more than it should have "I could ask you the same question Arnold" she whispers

Arnold frowns and sits next to Helga on the bench "Are you okay? Your voice sounds a bit raspy" Helga just turns her head farther away from him and scoots away from him on the bench. Never one to give up so easy he leans in closer to her "Hel...GAhh " Arnold screams as he sees the Six foot lizard that ate his bird all those years ago, suddenly walk up to Helga and placing its head on her lap

The lizard looks at Arnold and his tongue slithers out. Helga clears her throat again trying not to cry from the pain it causes "Arnold I'm sure you remember Toby" she whispers

Arnold backs away slightly from the lizard "How could I forget he ate my bird" Arnold shakes off the small fear he had of the lizard and turns back to Helga who is petting the lizard lovingly "I cant believe you kept him"

Helga sighs and a small almost unnoticeable smile rests on her lips "What can I say Arnold Toby and I fell in love that day" She whispers and leans over to place a small kiss on the reptiles head

Never in all 17 years of his life did Arnold think he would feel even the smallest silver of jealousy towards the lizard that ate his parrot but watching Helga kiss that...that thing pulled at some unwanted emotion in his heart

Arnold watches as she ties a leash onto the Liz...Toby's neck and stands up. Helga doesn't speak another word to him before she starts to walk off. Not wanting to leave it at that Arnold rushes after her and grabs onto her wrist with the pink ribbon on it half expecting her to scream at him for touching her, but not knowing shes biting her lip because hes pressing down on one of her bruises "Wait" Helga stops still not looking at Arnold "um are we still on to work on our project later"

Helga nods and pulls her wrist out of Arnold's grasp her fingers grazing the palm of his hand before her and Toby take off running in the darkness.

Arnold stands there watching them until he couldn't see her anymore then he looks down at his hand still feeling the warmth of her on his palm. Her hands and wrist were so tiny compared to his. He remembers them being much larger balled up into fist a silent threat in its self being added to Helga's harsh words made her hands something to fear.

Arnold shakes his heads at the thoughts running through his head before heading back to the boarding house. Opening the door a hoard of animals come rushing out, a sight that no matter what kinda mood he's in always makes Arnold laugh

Arnold closes the door behind him only to run into his grandfather "Hey there Arnold what are you doing up so early?"

Arnold smiles at his grandfather "I just needed to get some air grandpa, what about you"

Arnold's grandfather smiles "Pookie wanted me to come get her some water so that she could hang upside down and drink it"

They both laugh imagining the old woman actually doing that "Good luck with that grandpa"

"Oh and Arnold can you tell your little friend I said thank you for looking out for your grandma"

Arnold looks at his grandfather curiously "Um sure which one"

Phil scratches his bald head "Oh I don't remember her name your grandma kept saying that she was the queen"

"Well what did she look like ?"

"Hmm she was your age and a little bit shorter than you other than that I cant remember she was to far away for these old eyes of mine to see"

Arnold chuckles "Alright grandpa I'll see if I can find out who she is and thank her"

Phil nods "and make sure you bring her over to I would like to meet her. Not many people can put up with your grandma" Phil laughs and enters his room

Arnold shakes his head and climes up to the roof to watch the sun rise. Watching it his mind travels back to eight years ago

Flash back

"I love you Arnold!" Helga yells

"Y..you what?!" Arnold asks suddenly fearful

Helga growls "You heard me I love You I've always loved you ever since I first laid eyes on that stupid football head!" To stunned to react he never saw Helga coming as she yanked him into her arms and planted her lips on his

End flash back

Arnold reaches up to brush his finger tips to his lips remembering how soft her lips were. She was his first kiss, the first girl ever to tell him that she loved him. Compared to the passion of her confession on the FTI building none of the other confessions that came later on in life could compare. Every one else just lacked that passion that fire.

Arnold's eyes widen as his thoughts just came to light. The real reason he couldn't believe anyone else when they told him they were in love with him. He was subconsciously comparing them to Helga. For those few moments Arnold sat there shocked but if he was to be completely honest with himself he was not surprised.

Helga had spoiled him. Her confession, her kisses, her fire, her strength, her... dare he say it her love for him. All of these things he compared other girls to. Did they have all of these qualities? They had love for him sure or at least they said they did, but it was like the small flicker of a candles flame compared to the volcanic eruption that was Helga's.

Helga. After her confession she took it back a few hours later and they both agreed it was in the heat of the moment and to forget about it, but Arnold didn't forget about it. For weeks he thought about it and had dreams about it. She was constantly on his mind. Him wondering about her kiss and was it really in the heat of the moment? and during all his thinking he never noticed her slowly drifting away from everyone.

Finally when he came out of his little Helga thinking bubble and she just wasn't around any more. True she didn't go any were physically but it seemed as if she was becoming invisible, and Arnold being the nice guy he is decided to give her, her space and try to talk to her later. But that space grew wider and wider and soon they might as well have been strangers.

Now Arnold is back were he started eight years ago. Constantly thinking of Helga G. Pataki, but now he knows nothing about her. She had become a mystery to every one, she had perfected the ability to become invisible, but what bothers him is WHY?

Why did she become invisible? Why is she trying to hide from the world? What brought her to that point? What is she trying to hide? Then he wonders... who is she trying to hide from? Arnold has to many questions and they can only be answered by one person Helga and currently she will only speak to him in a low whisper if at all

Not for the first time since he was paired with her for this poetry project Arnold wonders what happened to the old Helga? He has a feeling hes gonna be asking himself that question a lot. Arnold sighs and looks down at his watch it reads in bold red letters 12:45pm

Arnold's eyes widen and he quickly jumps into his room and into some clothes "Helga's gonna kill me if I'm late" He looks down at his watch again as he's slipping on his shoes 12:55pm. Arnold quickly shoves his foot into the shoe grabs his wallet and little blue hat and runs for dear life down the stairs trying to politely push past the other residents

Phil is at the door with an Apple "Hey sh..."

"No time grandpa I'm running late!" Arnold yells grabbing the apple and leaping over the storm of animals that were rushing through the door with practice ease "Thanks for the apple!" Arnold runs as fast as he could to the library not bothering with being polite as he pushed past a few people.

When they library comes into view he slows down to catch his breath. He sends a quick glance to his watch 1:09pm blinks up at him and he sighs and walks into the library mentally preparing him self for a verbal lashing and though he will never ever tell hoping for one as well .

Looking around the library Arnold spots Helga sitting at a table writing in a small black book with her head down hiding her face. Arnold scratches the back of his head and sits down in the seat in front of her "Hi Helga sorry I'm late" She doesn't say any thing or even look up at him but pushes the work sheet from class to him and continues writing in her book

Arnold sighs and pick up the paper and reads it over "Okay it says we need to write a poem about any thing and make something to describe the poem a display or something" Arnold frowns and looks over to Helga who is still hiding her face "I suck at poetry are you any good?"

Helga flinches and pulls her little black book to her chest before placing it on her lap away from any prying eyes. Arnold watches her reaction confused and almost misses her small nod "Well I'm glad one of us knows something about poetry. Is there any particular type of poetry you would like to write?" Helga shakes her head

Arnold frowns at her lack of response to him and gets out of his chair to stand next to Helga "Helga I know I'm not exactly the person you want to work with on this project and you probably have better things to do with your time but while we are working on this could you please at least talk to me?"

Helga releases a small sigh and clears her throat talking was the last thing she needed or wanted to do right now "I'll write the poem give me a topic and I'll write it" she whispers

Arnold smiles and heads back to his seat but not before seeing a bright red mark on Helga's mouth. His smiles fades and he leans in closer "Helga what happened to your lip?"

Helga tenses then forces her self to relax she has been asked this question many times today, she was able to cover the bruise on her face with a little bit of make up but she couldn't hide a busted lip "A door hit me in the face I didn't know it was a swinging door" She whispers

Arnold blinks in surprise and lets out a small chuckle "so I guess you haven't grown out of being accident prone I see" Helga doesn't say any thing or give him any sign that she even heard him Arnold coughs trying to break the tension and sits back down in his seat "So we have to turn this in on Monday so lets try to get as much done as we can today."

Helga nods and pulls out a few sheets of paper "give me a topic"

"How about true friends? I mean we both have one I have Gerald and you have Phoebe"

Helga inwardly frowns Phoebe is still a friend to her sure but like everyone else. Phoebe tends to forget about her from time to time. Helga doesn't hold that against her because shes not doing it on purpose. Phoebe's family is very strict with her education and keeps her busy a lot of the time so she doesn't have the time she used to for Helga, but when ever she can she does try to spend time with her even if they don't talk... well she doesn't talk.

Still though if anything was to happen to her Phoebe is the one person in the world that she would call on. Phoebe was also the only one she could trust, But even she didn't know what was happening in Helga's home life

Helga nods to Arnold and starts to write completely tuning out every thing else Arnold was saying. She caught a few words here and there and figured he was talking about what to do for the display. But Helga was more focused on the words flowing out on paper remembering emotions she felt and still feels for Phoebe and there now almost non friendship.

About an hour or so later Helga stops writing and glances up at Arnold who is sketching something out on paper. He is completely focused. Seeing him there brings up old emotions that had been buried under years of abuse and his very own rejection of her feelings years ago, but those emotions were buried so deep they only felt like a tiny flutter

Back then him paying so much attention to her would have made her swoon, but now its only a small pang in her heart followed by the endless sea of nothing that she's used to feeling now. Her heart and mind has become almost completely numb void of all feeling other than pain, fear, depression and hatred for her parents. All negative emotions it was rare that she felt any positive emotions anymore Bob had beat most of them out of her.

Helga feels the darkness clouding her mind her her hand twitches wanting to write in her little black book and send her self back into that dark void in her mind were she is safe. Trying to snap her self back to attention Helga reaches up and pokes the bruise on her neck harshly sending a shock wave of pain through her bringing her back to reality

Once out of her mind Helga peaks a look at Arnold only to find him staring at her. She calmly pushes the paper with the poem for class towards him. He looks at the paper "you finished it already?"

Helga nods "yes" she whispers her throat really bothering her now maybe she shouldn't have used the bruise on her throat to bring her back

Arnold looks at the paper and quickly reads the poem. "Helga this is amazing!" he yells only to get shushed by the librarian "I didn't know you could write this well whats it called?"

"True And Genuine" Helga whispers

A large smile breaks out on Arnold's face and he fights back the urge to hug the silent girl before him "This is perfect!"Arnold looks down to his paper and an Idea pops into his head "I have a great idea. How about we get pictures of people we know with there best friends doing things together over the years and put it on a poster board we could make it like a mural" Helga only nods not really caring

After reading Helga's poem Arnold was bursting with giddiness. Her poem just made him feel good inside, it wasn't even a long poem but it was so wonderful. True and Genuine described exactly what he felt for his best friend

"I can go out later today and get the pictures we need for out display can you meet up tomorrow?"

Helga shakes her head no and Arnold frowns "why do you have to work?" Another shake "then what?"

Helga clears her throat "I have to take Toby to the vet"she whispers hoarsely

"Are you feeling okay?"Helga nods and takes a water bottle out of her bag "How about I go with you?"

Helga pauses thinking it over. It couldn't hurt as long as he didn't ask to walk her home that night. They could finish the project and Toby gets to have his appointment. "Okay"she whispers

Arnold smiles and goes over to Helga's side of the table and holds out a hand to help her up. She stares at his hand and calmly gets up on her own after putting her things in her bag. Expecting that Arnold walks out side the library with Helga "so what time is Toby's appointment?"

"8 o clock"

"In the morning?"Helga nods "Okay how long does it normally last?" Helga remains silent and Arnold scratches his head nervously "Not that it really matters or anything I don't have anything else to do tomorrow" Helga continues walking till they reach the fork in the road that leads to there individual houses his on the left hers on the right

Without a word Helga turns from Arnold and starts walking home, and he stands there fighting with himself. His body was yelling at him to grab her into his arms. His instincts were telling him not to let her go home something wasn't right. His heart was whispering follow her. But his brain told him to wait till tomorrow. Can you guess which one he listened to?


	3. Chapter 3

"_Arnold...Arnold please help me" a familiar females voice rings out _

_Arnold looks around the entire area covered in fog "Who are you? Where are you?!" Arnold screams running around _

"_hurry Arnold I wont last much longer" The voice says fading softly from behind him _

_Arnold turns quickly to see a woman with her back to him her long golden hair trailing in waves past her shoulders. 'Drip, Drip' Arnold looks around wondering were the dripping was coming from then he looks back at the woman her hair was no longer blond it was red like blood and it was dripping Arnold looks down to see a puddle of the red liquid gathering around the woman."who are you?"_

_Arnold reaches out to grab the woman's shoulders and turns her around and screamed the woman's eyes had been removed and he could see the fog behind her through the bleeding sockets. The blood running down what should have been pale cheeks but were instead black bruised covered cheeks looked like tears_

_She has holes in her chest from what looked like bullet wounds and a knife in her heart she opens her mouth and a river of blood floods out "I wont last much longer"_

_Tears fall down Arnold's face "who are you how can I help you?"_

"_I'm fading fast Arnold help me"_

_Arnold watches horrified as the woman is being pulled away from him by two large hands "NO COME BACK!" he yells running to try to catch up to the woman and try to figure out how to stop this from happening but the harder he ran the farther away she was until she was gone _

"_you were to late" her soft voice whispers gently in his ear_

_Arnold drops to his hands and knees not caring that he's kneeling in her blood and lets out a mournful cry_

_END DREAM_

Arnold sits up in bed quickly gasping for air his eyes wide as he looks around his room expecting it to be as dark and foggy as the room in his dream. He looks down at his hands expecting to see her blood on them. Seeing no blood Arnold's heart starts to calm "It was just a dream" he whispers

He looks towards his clock to see its 6:30 in the morning he has to meet Helga in a hour for Toby's appointment but even knowing this Arnold lays back in his bed thinking about his dream. He feels as if he knows that girl.

Arnold shakes his head and crawls out of bed "She might have forgiven or not have care that you were late once but twice is pushing it Short-man" He mutters to himself as he starts to get dressed and he realized what he just did and runs his fingers through his hair "Damn now I'm talking to my self I'm going crazy"

Arnold grabs an apple on his way out the door shivering slightly at the cool morning air its the end of November and December is right around the corner so the weather is steadily getting colder and at the rate the temperature is dropping they will have snow soon

He looks ahead of him to see Helga walking with Toby. Instead of her normal gray outfit she was wearing black black tennis shoes blue jeans that looked to be to big for her and a long sleeved turtle neck shirt she wore a black beanie with all of her hair tucked in as usual it kinda reminded him of Double D from that old cartoon Ed, Edd, n Eddy

She kept her head down not looking anyone in the eye, but Arnold's gaze was drawn to her lips. She had a small smile almost invisible smile when some one notices Toby with her and runs away. That smile of hers hit something in Arnold's heart even with her lip busted the way it was that tiny invisible smile was one of the most beautiful smiles he had ever seen.

As soon as she noticed him the smile on her lips vanished completely and her face became blank "Um good morning Helga" She nods to him and continues walking sometimes being slightly dragged by Toby. They continue to walk in silence until they reach the vets office. The sign on the door said it was closed but Helga rang the door bell anyway "I think there ..."

The door bursts open and a woman with bright blue hair and green eyes runs out and grabs Helga and places a kiss on her cheek extremely close to her lips. Arnold's eyes widen at the blue woman's forward actions and was even more surprised that Helga didn't resist.

Toby yanks away from his leash and runs inside the building to get away from the cold and the woman smiles and drags Helga into the building behind the lizard leaving Arnold to follow. He sees Toby laying under what looks like the top half of a tanning booth purring lightly.

Looking around he spots Helga and the blue woman sitting face to face the blue woman's hands moving at lightning speed. Helga nods at the woman and the woman quickly walks away into a hidden room "Um Helga what was that all about?"

Helga squats down next to Toby and pets the now slumbering lizard on the head she did not seemed surprised when the lizards long tail wrapped around her waist and he curled his body so that his head was on her lap "her name is Ayame shes Japanese like Phoebe and likes to go by what her name means witch is Iris" Helga whispers

"And all those hand movements ?"

"Iris is deaf"

Arnold freezes. Deaf? Its not uncommon but he had never met a deaf person before..other than the fact that his grandparents were losing there hearing in there old age but he highly doubted that was the same

"Oh..."

Iris walks back into the room waving her hands around with a large smile on her face and she starts signing to Helga who quickly signs back. Arnold's gaze was trapped on Helga's hands now they were so small so dainty so..so feminine

The girls continue until Helga makes a sweeping motion in his direction and Iris rushes over to him and stares him deep in the eyes. With her leaning so close to him it was easy to see that her eyes weren't naturally green but a interesting shade of brown. Arnold takes a step backwards and she moves forward soon there doing a weird version of a dance and all hes trying to do is gain some personal space "Helga Help Please"

Helga unravels Toby from around her with a sigh, and grabs onto Iris's arm. She starts signing and then she motions to Toby. Iris pouts and signs something back to Helga before walking over to Toby and leading him into the back room

"What was that all about?" Arnold asks

Helga turns her head and looks through the door were Iris took Toby "She said she was coming over to say hi to you but then she decided she likes your eyes and wanted a better look she wants that to be her next hair color." Helga whispers hoarsely

She winces at the pain in her throat she had managed to avoid Big Bob yesterday and left the money in his favorite chair but this morning he was mad because it yet again wasn't enough and he didn't get a chance to release his frustrations out on her last night so he choked her this morning before she left the house, not as long as before but still hard enough to make the bruise even more noticeable and seriously hurt her throat

"Helga are you sure your okay your voice is starting to sound really bad" Arnold asks leaning closer to her

Helga turns her body away from Arnold "I'm fine"

Arnold doesn't look convinced but decides to let it go "...so when did you learn sign language?"

"7 ½ years ago"

Arnold look Shocked that was after FTI "so your fluent?" Helga nods Arnold sits there quietly for a few minutes "I think I have a great idea to go along with our project how about you sign the poem as I'm reading it this way you don't have to talk and you can rest your voice"

Helga tenses then looks down at her hands one of the few places on her that doesn't have scars . Arnold's idea does have merit, and she really wasn't looking forward to hurting her self anymore trying to talk in front of the class "okay" Helga whispers

"Great!" Arnold yells excitedly and begins to pull things out of his bag "I've mostly finished the display but I was wondering if you could help me paint it."Helga nods and stands up her back still to Arnold "were are you going?"

"Toby"

Arnold follows Helga into the room Iris disappeared into to see Toby swinging his tail around threatening towards a gray haired man with a needle. Helga calmly clicks her tongue and Toby rushes towards her curling around her legs his tail reaching up and wrapping around her waist

Helga removes Toby's tail and sits on the operating table in the center of the room Toby following her quickly and re-wrapping his tail around her waist. She then looks over at the Doctor and nods. The doctor walk up slowly and Toby turns his head to him his forked tongue slithering out of his mouth in the doctors direction. Helga puts a hand on Toby's head and begins to pet him the dragon calms down enough for the doctor to give him his shots

"Arnold Paint" A hoarse whisper rings through out the silent room

Arnold jumps having went into a daze watching Helga interact with Toby seeing how quickly she was able to calm him like a mother would a child. Shaking those thoughts out of his head Arnold starts bringing things out of his book bag he brings out the poster board and the paintbrushes with the paint "Um how are we..."

Arnold was cut off when Iris rolled a table in front of them and pushed a chair over for Arnold. He watches as Helga sends Iris a sign that looks a lot like she blowing a kiss "That means thank you" Helga whispers

Arnold's eyes widen and he mimics the movement towards Iris gaining him self a smile from the blue haired woman. Iris then walks up to Helga and gets in her face only to have Helga turn her head slightly away and avoid eye contact all together

Iris smiles sadly and walks away. Helga then adjusts Toby's tail around her waist and picks up a few of the art supplies Arnold watches Helga silently before starting to work himself. The hours move past quickly and before Arnold even knew it it was 9:45 at night and Toby's appointment was finished

Iris walks them out the door and signs some parting words to Helga. She then turns her head to Arnold and gives him a smile and a wink, making him blush lightly. Iris turns to Helga and tries yet again to look into the girls eyes only to be turned away again. A sad smile takes over Iris's face again but she pulls Helga's face towards hers slowly knowing Helga was going to either close her eyes or turn away.

Arnold's eyes widen when he sees Iris's lips land firmly on top of Helga's, they linger there for a few seconds before Iris pulls away and walks back into the building. Arnold watches Helga looking for a reaction to what just happened but was shocked when all she did was calmly turn around and walkaway with Toby.

He follows silently to shocked to actually strike up a conversation. First hes jealous of Toby now hes jealous of another woman what's wrong with him? Why is he suddenly jealous of any person or animal that touches Helga's lips? Why does he wish that it was his lips that had just touched Helga's?

Before he knew it they had made it to the fork in the road. Helga pauses looking in the direction her house is in. Her instincts are yelling at her not to go this time, but she knows rationally that it can't happen "Arnold can you do me a really big favor?" Helga whispers

"Sure Helga what do you need?" He asks trying to keep the jealousy out of his voice

Helga continues to look in the direction of her house feeling like this might be the last time "I need you to take Toby over to Phoebe's house for me"

Arnold looks confused "Phoebe's house?" Helga nods "Sure but why?"

"its not important" Helga whispers "I just cant have him home tonight"

"Um do you think he will let me take him?" Arnold asks looking down at the dragon

Helga kneels down in front of Toby and takes her ribbon off her wrist and ties it on to Toby's neck. Toby rubs his head on Helga's chin and licks her cheek. Helga stands up and places Toby's leash in Arnold's hand "He will be fine now"

A splash of water hits Helga's cheek and she turns her gaze to the sky as the clouds open up and the rain comes pouring down. Helga keeps her face turned away from Arnold knowing that the rain is slowly washing away her make up.

"Maybe we should hurry out the rain" Arnold says placing a hand on Helga's shoulder

Helga tenses under his touch but then relaxes. She quickly spins around and pulls Arnold into a tight hug tears streaming down her face mixing in with the rain. Arnold tenses before wrapping his arms around her wondering what brought this on, and also enjoying the feel of her body pressed against his. Helga turns her head slightly her lips brushing against his ear sending a shiver down his spine "Good bye Arnold" She whispers and runs off before He can say another word.

Arnold watches Helga run off till he cant see her anymore before turning to Toby who looks like he wants to run after her."Hey Toby please tell me I'm not the only one who has a bad feeling about her leaving like this" Toby lets out a low growl "I thought so lets get out of the rain"

Arnold then turns away and leads Toby over to Phoebe's house the whole while feeling like something bad was about to take place

With Helga

Helga makes it to her door completely drenched from the rain the makeup long since washed away and the bruises on her face are completely visible a fist on one cheek a hand print on the other not to mention the black eye she still had. She closes her eyes and thinks back on the years of abuse she has been subjected to and how it only got worse after Miriam died

Bob blamed Helga for it. Miriam had overdosed on alcohol and pain killers she took more than her usual dosage and died. This happened five years ago. According to Bob Miriam didn't start drinking till after Helga was born thus making her drinking and dieing all Helga's fault.

The straw that drove Bob completely over the edge was when he discovered that Olga wasn't his daughter. Miriam had cheated on him. Olga then decided to go find her birth father and hasn't been heard from since this happened three years ago. Bob had gotten a paternity test done on Helga and it turned out that she was his. You would think that he would have been happy about that but no it only pissed him off more. That was the day he decided to find out how long he could choke her before she would pass out.

Helga shakes the memories out of her head and enters the house "And were have you been?" The large booming voice of Big Bob Pataki thunders through the house

"Toby had to go to the vet" Helga whispers as loud as she could

Bob looks around not seeing the dragon "And were is the over grown lizard?"

Helga blinks at the ground and clears her throat "He had to stay overnight"

A weird gleam enters Bob's eyes that should have worried Helga but because she had her gaze to the ground she didn't see it "Guess what I have a little present for you"

Helga raises her head and her eyes widen a little in surprise but other wise had no physical reaction "What is it?"

Big Bob grins and places a hand on top of Helga's head gently. To an outsider looking in they would say this was the picture perfect moment between father and daughter "Now I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise" Bob's smile gets bigger and a familiar twinge of fear forces its way though Helga's body. "Go into the living room and wait for me there I'll be back with your surprise shortly"

Helga nods and enters the living room and sits on the couch the same couch that they found Miriam dead on. She was always freaked out when sitting on the couch, because after all these years it still smelled like Miriam. A mix of alcohol and strawberries.

Strawberries. Some times Helga would pretend that Miriam was trying to scare her off of alcohol by mixing strawberries in every thing. In her mind Miriam was sending her a silent message to never drink and become her. Miriam did this with the one thing Helga was deathly Allergic to... Strawberries.

Helga looks over at the clock sitting on the wall she had made it home at 10:30pm it was now 2:05am she had been sitting there for 3 hours waiting on Bob. She shakes her head and stands up off the couch. Maybe he for got. As soon as she does a sharp sting hits her back and she crumbles to the floor, another sting on her back makes Helga cry out in pain and she turns quickly to see were it was coming from.

Bob he was standing there with a whip in his hand. He had some how gotten a leather whip with silver wrapped around it. "How do you like your gift?" Bob laughs. Helga's eyes widen and she turns to run out of the house but was stopped by the harsh sting of the whip on her back again. "Hey now no running away" Bob grabs Helga by the back of her shirt and drags her back into the living room and tossing her face down onto the floor. He then handcuffs her face down to the legs of Miriam's couch "Now its time for some fun"

Helga's horse screams rang loud and true through the neighborhood that night but as always no one did a thing.


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning Helga wakes up Bob had unhand-cuffed her sometime during the night and left her on the living room floor. She tried to move but pain shot through her and tears leak out of her eyes. Helga grits her teeth and pushes her self to her feet feeling the warm trickle of her life blood flowing down her back and heads for the shower.

With out looking in the mirror Helga removes the torn bloody remains of her shirt and bra and puts them in the garbage along with her pants. Her hat that had some how managed to stay on her head though it all was next. Her long blond hair fell down her back in waves, she had never bothered to cut it anything shorter than her shoulders reminded her to much of Olga and Miriam so it was just shy of her waist.

Helga shakes out her hair wincing when the strands catch on her back. She then climbs in the shower and leans against the tiled walls watching the water run red under her feet. The blood mixed in with the water reminded her of the strawberry smoothie of Miriam's. Closing her eyes Helga tries her voice barely a whisper escaped her screams a few hours before had taken what little of her voice she had left but still she continued

"My Life

surrounded by walls  
no where to go  
walls are closing in  
no more air flow

no one can hear you  
like your never there  
no one can help  
no one is there

kicking and screaming  
yelling for help  
mom sits and watches  
while dad grabs his belt

mom doesn't say anything  
until dad leaves  
she doesn't care  
at least I didn't believe

this always happened  
every single night  
mom just sat and watched  
without putting up a fight

going to school  
with new bruises every day  
teachers always asked  
I blew their help away

knowing if I told  
it would only get worse  
begging on my knees  
for him not to immerse

just laying there as time passed by  
watching myself get beat  
I just thought to myself  
one day I'll be back on my feet

the time had finally come  
many years after  
I finally stood up for myself  
it never happened there after."

Helga climbs out of the shower and finally looks at her back chunks of her skin were missing and there wasn't a spot that wasn't ripped open. Helga only sighs and uses the bandages in the medicine cabinet to wrap her wounds.

Once she was done she quickly puts on a black turtleneck sweater and replaces her beanie after tucking her hair into it. Helga looks into the mirror seeing the purple and yellow of the bruises on her cheeks and around her eye. Shaking her head she pulls out her make up and works on covering the bruises up making it look like it never happened.

The feeling that something was about to happen still hasn't left her yet. Normally when Bob decides to try out a new beating on her after its over the feeling goes away, but this time its still here; its not as strong as before but its still there. Something is about to change in her life and for once Helga isn't sure whether or not this change will be a good thing or will it make her already horrible life worse.

Helga sighs and leaves the restroom and heads out of the door on her way to school, each step sending wave after wave of pain through her back. She passes by some of her neighbors who look at her strangely but otherwise doesn't say any thing. Most of them are to scared of Bob to do any thing. Helga found that out the hard way when this started. From her screams the neighbors most likely thought that he had finally killed her last night

Sighing Helga continues her slow walk to school. Once at the half way point Helga stops to catch her breath, the wounds on her back making it hard for her to continue moving. Looking around She notices that she is in front of her old preschool. 13 years ago she stood here covered in mud and soaked to the bone from the rain.

Back then Helga didn't know if there were kind people in the real world, she simply thought all of those nice people only existed on television. An invisible smile finds its way to the corners of Helga's lips, as she looks at the old building. Arnold proved her wrong. He was the first person in her entire life to be nice to her and Phoebe was the second. Maybe that's what made her cling to them so much in the past, but now Bob has killed that warm feeling she used to get from them. One day that feeling might return but right now there seems to be no hope.

Helga sighs and turns from the building to see a little girl with short black hair wearing a red dress drop her things in the middle of the road. She had to be going to the preschool judging by her age. Helga begins to walk towards her school again when out of no were she sees a car speeding towards the little girl.

In three seconds a burst of energy flooded through Helga's veins and she dashed into the road and wrapped the little girl in her arms just as the car crashed into their bodies. Helga curled her body around the little girl shielding her and taking the majority of the impact into her own already tired body.

As they land on the ground a silent cry escapes Helga as she lands flat on her back on the hard concrete. Shouts and cries fill her ears and she looks at the little girl in her arms who has her hands up to her eyes and is crying. Helga tries to move but her body hurts so much that it is impossible. Black spots start to fill her vision and her eye lids start to get heavy, Helga vaguely hears some one telling her not to close her eyes but she was tired so very tired so she decided to ignore the voice and closed her eyes.

With Arnold

Arnold looks down the hall seeing every one but the person he's looking for, Helga. Half of the school day has passed and there was still no sign of her. When he asked around people just looked at him confused some even asked him who she was, one person even asked him if he was sure she wasn't just a figment of his imagination. Helga did a really good job of making her self invisible.

Arnold didn't even know until today just how many classes he had with her until she just wasn't there any more. Taking a glance at his watch he sighs hopefully she will at least be there for there last class. Arnold quickly walks to his math class only to bump into Phoebe "Hey Phoebe"

Phoebe looks up from the book she's reading and sends Arnold a small smile "Konichiwa Arnold-kun"

"Hey have you seen Helga around today?"

Phoebe frowns "No I haven't. I wanted to tell her that I took Toby to the vets office this morning"

Arnold frowns the over grown lizard had grown on him a little bit "Whats wrong with him? Cause he was just at the vets yesterday"

"Well last night after you dropped him off he started to puke something red and sticky and rubbing the remains off of his face into the bed we got for him then this morning before I left for school he started to go wild he was completely out of control nothing I could do would calm him. I've never seen him act this way be for"

Arnold scratches the back of his neck and looks down at Phoebe "Maybe he just misses Helga"

Phoebe's frown deepens "I wish I could agree with you there Arnold but..."

"But?"

Phoebe looks through the halls and shakes her head "But I just cant shake the feeling the something bad has happened"

"Something bad?... Like what?" Arnold asks

Phoebe shakes her head "Nothing Arnold It might just be my imagination lets head off to class"

Arnold nods and they head off to class. The only problem is Arnold has had that same bad feeling in his chest that Phoebe has since he watched Helga run off last night. He was hoping that she was gonna show up at school today and ease that feeling but she has been no were in sight. Arnold just didn't want to say anything that would worry Phoebe even more , but sadly her words did nothing to help him.

Phoebe and Arnold make it to there math class and sit in there assigned seats. Phoebe still in a down mood from their conversation in the hallway; for the first time ever places her head down on her desk not paying attention to anything the teacher is saying.

She knows something is wrong. How she knows? She honestly has no clue but Phoebe always had a sixth since when Helga really needed her. Its not as strong as it used to be when they were younger; in fact it was almost non existent till this morning, but it was still there non the less. Helga seemed to have that same ability when it came to her but more intense. It was actually how they became friends somehow Helga just new that Phoebe needed her.

Phoebe was being picked on in preschool because she was Japanese and she spoke broken English. Some kids from another class had decided that she would make a fun target to throw things at, and had chased her into a corner. Phoebe curled into a ball bracing herself for them to start throwing things when Helga appeared out of no were punching each one of the boys in the face and threatening them that if they ever tried something like that to one of her friends again they would get much worse.

From then on they were virtually attached to the hip...at least they used to be. Helga started distancing her self from Phoebe a bit over 6 years ago and if Phoebe is honest with her self it started 8 years ago. Nothing obvious to start with just not talking about certain things that they use to, Helga not calling as much small things like that. When Helga's mother died Phoebe thought Helga would come to her but she never did. After that life just got in the way.

A knock on the room door breaks Phoebe out of her musings the teacher opens the door to reveal two police officers "Can I help you officers?" The teacher asks

The officer with red hair steps into the class room gaining the attention of all the students following him was an African American man with a scar on the left side of his face "Yes we are looking for a Phoebe Heyerdahl

Instantly all eyes fall onto Phoebe who stands up "I am Phoebe Heyerdahl"

The red head nods to her "before we ask you to come with us do you know a Helga Pataki?"

Phoebe and Arnold frown and worry builds up even more "yes I do shes my best friend.. is she OK?"

The African American officer shakes his head "we cant currently release any information on Miss Pataki now Miss Heyerdahl if you would please come with us"

Phoebe nods and quickly gathers her things, sending a quick text to her parents and follows the black officer out of the room. Arnold watches his entire being filled with worry. What was going on and how is Helga involved. There math teacher Mr. Maren looks to the red head officer clearly waiting an explanation. The officer sighs and looks behind him to see that his partner and Phoebe are long gone " listen we cant give you any information but we have no control as to what the media says"and with that the officer leaves the room

Instantly the teacher grabs the remote off of his desk and turns on the television to the news it was on commercial and the entire class sat there in silence as they waited on the news broadcast to show. A large knot started to form in Arnold's stomach he had a feeling he was not gonna like what was said on the news.

The screen flickered and a news woman with short black hair appeared "good afternoon I am Mrs. Pod and this is channel five news. I am here in front of Young Angel Preschool were a tragic accident went down early this morning. According to bystanders a little girl had dropped her things on her way to the preschool in the road and as she was picking them up a car with a drunk driver came speeding towards her but at the last second she was saved by a young woman...we have video footage taken by one of the bystanders.

Static covers the screen before a picture finally shows through at first you see a girl standing there smiling but suddenly you hear a scream and the camera points towards the road. Every one watches in horror when they see Helga grab the little girl in her arms right be fore the car was about to hit and took full impact. Helga's body smashed into the windshield of the car and rolled over the top before she landed in a broken heap on the ground all the while protecting the little girl in her arms but once they landed a large puddle of Helga's blood started to form instantly around her growing bigger every second.

The class watched as the little girl sat up from Helga's arms took one look at the girl who saved her life and burst into tears. One of Helga's arms rose in a small attempt to touch the little girl but fell quickly to the ground. There vision of Helga was blocked when the ambulance arrived there was a yell for Helga not to close her eyes and the video cut off

Mrs. Pod returned to the screen and cleared her throat "the little girl is fine we don't know her identity yet but other than a few bruises she will be okay... but as for that brave young girl she is in critical condition" Mrs. Pod touches her hear listening to the voice on the other end of her ear piece before turning back to the camera "news just in we have the name of the brave young woman her name is Helga Pataki daughter of the beeper king Big Bob Pataki." Mrs Pod nods to the camera " we will be heading down to the hospital after this to see if we can gather anymore information on the well being of Helga and the identity of the little girl that was rescued "

Arnold stopped listening his mind blanked after seeing all of the blood that had formed around Helga's body when she landed. There was so much of it ever since his dream the sight of blood has started to freak Arnold out but only large amounts of it.

The image of Helga laying there in a pool of her own blood flashes through Arnold's head and makes him sick to his stomach. The teacher turns off the television just as Arnold jumps out of his seat and runs out of the room. Arnold ignores the yells for him to come back and sprints down the empty halls out the front doors were he proceeds to empty the contents of his stomach on the side walk

Arnold falls into a crumpled heap on the ground he doesn't know how long he laid there but soon a little girl with blond hair approaches him and looks down at her her brown eyes roaming his head, but Arnold doesn't notice he had went into a trance. Finally she looks into his eyes "Hey did you know your head is shaped like a football? You have a..a whats the word I'm looking for?" The little girl puts her finger to her chin and sticks her tongue out of the corner of her mouth in deep thought before she smiles "You Have a FOOTBALL HEAD!"

That was it that one name brought Arnold back to the world of the living. He smiles weakly at the little girl before standing. "Thank you" He whispers patting the little girl on the head before he takes off running again leaving a confused little girl behind

The little girl shakes her head "Teenagers are weird"

Kyekye- so what did you think of that wasn't the little blond haired girl just adorable lol... I know I left everyone on the edge about how Helga's doing but I think I can explain everything in the next chapter maybe...I don't know we will have to wait and see...please read and review


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